The Chiaroscuro: Chapter 12
Hiro's POV Woods Outside Dark Circle Base, One Year Ago I was watching Ariel sworn in to the Dark Circle. Vega lit four fires, one red, blue, yellow, and green. She was also using a stick that was burning on one end, which made a purple flame. It smelled like herbs when I got sworn in an hour ago. Both Vega and Ariel raised their right hand. "Do you, as a member of the Dark Circle, swear that you will always get the job done, no matter what happens?" Vega said. "I will." Ariel replied. "As a member of the Dark Circle, are you prepared to make impossible decisions, even if it means that your friends die?" "I-I-I w-will." "As a member of the Dark Circle, will you always fight for the protogenoi and impose their will?" "I will." By that part, I sort of got a vision. I get those sometimes. In my head I saw a knife go down, a pitch-black knife, and a hand fall to the floor. It looked familiar, like it was... "My hand. I died in the future." Someone killed me. But who? I scanned everyone's hands. None of them looked like a suspect. Then, I looked at Caleb. He was holding a knife in his hand. The exact same one. "Hey, Drake. I gotta go. A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do." "Dude! Too much information! Ya could've just said 'I need to go to the bathroom'." "Okay. Just gonna leave." I walked toward the Dark Circle's base, but I didn't come in. I hid behind a tree, and time travelled to the future. Dark Circle Base's Hold, When Hiro Died "Caleb, don't do this! You don't know what you're doing! Tons of people are gonna die! Even-" Hiro pleaded. "You took the oath! And you swore on the River Styx too! And you know the penalty for being a traitor!" Caleb yelled, almost panicked. "No, wait! If you kill me, then you're gonna kill tons along with me! Even you are gonna die!" "Lies!" He materialized a knife in his hands out of shadow, and stabbed present-day Hiro in the humerus. "Gods damn you Caleb! I'll never make a joke in the Underworld now! I'll tell your pops that his son is a complete *cough* idiot." And my future self became unconscious. "And that, Hiro, is what happens to traitors." Caleb walked away, and the I silently walked in. "Caleb killed me." I said, "I guess those oaths went down the drain. Okay, me, I'll carry you to camp. Wow, this kinda feels weird." And then I time traveled, again. Camp Half-Blood, Long Island, NY, USA: Two Years Ago I pulled out that staff Ariel gave me, Porthitis, which meant, "Stormer." It was supposed to summon storms whenever I needed them. "I always knew this thing would come in handy," I thought. I sent a lightning storm above and carried my present self into camp. "Help! Help!" I yelled, "Storm spirits are behind us!" About five campers and twice as many satyrs ran out to us. "What the hell is going on?!" they asked. "We were being chased by storm spirits, and I lost them in the woods. But I didn't get away before they shot my big brother," I tapped my future self, "And he's been knocked unconscious and he's bleeding from his arm! You guys gotta heal him!" And who else would come out but... "Josh!" "Hiro! What are you doing here?" We knew each other a little. But then again, when you worked in the infirmary for a while, you know almost everyone at camp. "Dude, you need to heal him," and I added quietly, "He's a future self of mine." "Okay, just bring him to the infirmary, cuz they have tons of ambrosia and nectar." I carried my older self into the infirmary, and let Josh work his magic. Two hours later... "What the hell?" My older self said. "Hey, Hiro, he's conscious!" Josh yelled. I rushed over to the infirmary, where Josh and some of the other campers were gathered around. "Thanks a ton Josh. I owe you one. I'd better bring myself to the present." "No prob. Just make sure the time is right." I sliced a time portal with my staff, Skiptrouno, waved goodbye, and walked through it. Dark Circle Base, Appalachian Mountains, USA: Present Day I woke up where Caleb stabbed me. I looked at my arm. Only a white scar was left of where Caleb stabbed, twisted, and ripped the knife out of my own arm. He didn't stab me in the heart or head. I guess "traitors" to the Circle were only allowed the slow death. "Caleb! That f***ing bastard! He's plunging this world into World War Three. I gotta find the Center of Light. They'll know what to do." I walked up and snuck around, knowing that if Caleb saw me, even a younger self won't be able to save me. At least I remember saving myself. "What the hell?" I said, because this was a great time, and I love perfect timing. A guy was flying down from the sky. And yes he kinda looked cool. His wings were black, but he looked like a normal kid, like Drake... "Oh gods. Another son of Thanatos." "Guessed right. What are you? Some sort of Japanese nerd?" Did I mention that when people call me nerds, it frickin pisses me off? "No. And not to be mean, just what the hell are you doing here? We're about to have in inter-faction war if you haven't noticed." "Oh. But I have a question. Which group are you in? I know whats happening, I just wanna know." "I used to be in the Dark Circle, but now all thats left of it is a bunch of bastards." "What?" "The two leaders, Caleb and Vega, separated. They hate each other. Others joined her in leaving. And now, the whole Circle is persecuting us. We only have the Center of Light. They're good people." "Oh really?" And the guy, who I discovered later to be named Garrett, punched me in the face hard. When I was still conscious, he picked up a phone. "Caleb? Yeah, I got him. Package Timer is set and ready to deliver. When I couldn't see anything, you could probably guess what happened next. "Author, don't let me die. Again." The Chiaroscuro Homepage [[The Chiaroscuro: Chapter 13|'Chapter 13']] Category:Chiaroscuro Category:Illoras